Ian McKellen Was Offered $1.5 Million To Officiate A Wedding As Gandalf

Everyone could use an extra $1.5 million. I certainly wouldn’t protest (1,500,000 tacos aren’t going to buy themselves), and even Bill Gates — who has a reported net worth of $90 billion — could finally get around to purchasing that fourth Zamboni he’s had his eye on.

But there are things you probably wouldn’t do to acquire the money.

For instance, I wouldn’t drink a gallon of mayonnaise even if you promised me $50 million, while Sir Ian McKellen was recently offered the easiest paycheck of his life: all he had to do was officiate a wedding as Gandalf from The Lord of the Rings. It wasn’t just any wedding, though: It was for Alexandra Lenas and Napster founder Sean Parker, which may have threatened an entire species.

You shall not say yes.

“I was offered one-and-a-half million dollars to marry a very famous couple in California, which I would perhaps have considered doing, but I had to go dressed as Gandalf. So I said, ‘I am sorry, Gandalf doesn’t do weddings.’ I don’t go dressing up. Except in plays.” (Via Page Six)